1st April 2009

April 1st 2009 officially begins the annual observance of Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month 2009.

In an attempt to give dedicated focus to, and to foster greater public awareness of important subjects, the practice has developed worldwide of setting aside special times to focus on a particular subject.  Sometimes it is a day, sometimes a week, sometimes a month, sometimes a year.

For as important a subject as children, and in particular Child Abuse and Prevention, the international community has set aside a full month, the month of April.  So we in the Virgin Islands join the international community in designating April as Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month.

The theme for this year’s observance of Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month “Strengthening Families and Communities” carries a very profound message.  It underscores the significance of the family which is the basic and fundamental unit in society; it is from families that communities are built; it is from communities that countries are built.  The family is the basic building block in society, and failure to strengthen families means failure to build strong communities, strong countries.

So the quest to have and to foster healthy, strong, families must be an ongoing one, and one in which each of us must play our part.  Time was when we lived in the reality that the village raised the child.  Sadly that is no longer the case, and as a result everyone needs to come together to strengthen families and communities.

I believe that we all agree that children are the future, a special and precious resource.  I also hope that we agree that it is our duty to do everything possible to mould and foster children into healthy well adjusted individuals, and to help each child become the best that he or she can.
 
It is clear that how we treat our children has a fundamental impact on their overall emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual development.  It is accordingly our civic and moral responsibility to ensure that by working together we can help to build communities in which children have and enjoy pride of place.

Far too many reports of child abuse and neglect are reported to the Department of Social Development and the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force annually.  Some incidents also go unreported and child abuse and neglect continue to be an unfortunate problem.

Abuse of a child and neglect in any form is detrimental- not only to the victim, but to society as a whole.  Our children can only continue to enjoy positive upbringings when the environment is safe and free from violence or threats.  It is our collective duty to create such an environment.

That is why the Government as a whole continues to work to build a country that values, supports and promotes the rights of women, children and men in achieving healthy, violence free, nourishing and productive lives and relationships which contribute to their economic, social, emotional, intellectual and moral well-being, which also contributes to the strengthening of the family unit as the foundation of our society.  But, strengthening families and communities cannot be done by the Government alone.

Very importantly each of us, all of us, must work together to strengthen families, to strengthen communities.  The Government through the Ministry of Health and Social Development by its Social Development Department will continue to work with and support other agencies and community based prevention and intervention programmes which address risk factors for child abuse.

Programmes have also been developed by the Department of Social Development to provide support for parents and families.  These include the Big Brother/Big Sister Programme, the Parenting Education Programme, Early Intervention Services, a Foster Care Programme and a Public and Social Assistance Programme.  I urge you to support and participate in these Programmes.  I urge each of you as individuals to contribute in whatever way you can, and to do your part to help to protect children, to build stronger families, and to build stronger communities.

In closing, I remind you that we must all work together to uphold our promise to protect our children to strengthen our families.  I recognize the efforts of all who work in this cause – the Social Development Department, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force, the community organizations including the Family Support Network, faith based organization, schools, businesses, public agencies, citizens.

With everyone working together, with the strength of families and the community, we can better the life of every child and hopefully, every family.

So, I encourage everyone to join me in dedicating our energies to cherishing our children and to helping them to grow and develop free from abuse and neglect.

And now as Minister of Health and Social Development, it gives me great pleasure to declare the month of April 2009 as CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND AWARENESS MONTH.